Frankenstein (1910)

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée ... See full summary »

Director:

J. Searle Dawley

Writers:

Mary Shelley (novel), J. Searle Dawley

Stars:

Mary Fuller, Charles Ogle, Augustus Phillips

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Mary Fuller	...	Elizabeth (uncredited)
Charles Ogle	...	The Monster (uncredited)
Augustus Phillips	...	Frankenstein (uncredited)

Storyline

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster. A fight ensues but the monster, seeing himself in a mirror, is horrified and runs away. He later returns, entering the new bride's room, and finds her alone.

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Plot Keywords:

frankenstein | mirror | alchemy | frankenstein's monster | experiment gone wrong | 

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Genres:

Short | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1910 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edison Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prior to the film's rediscovery, only a few images of Charles Ogle as The Monster were known to exist. Interestingly, Ogle looks a lot younger in the film than he does in the photographs.

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Connections

Featured in Frankenstein: A Modern Myth (2012)

User Reviews

Birth of a Notion

Over the years I've watched and enjoyed loads of early Biograph and Vitagraph one and two reelers, but this was my first time with Edison's take on Frankenstein which I understand was a lost film for decades. A century later and it's on YouTube for all, such is progress! At this time Film was changing from a collection of unconnected images to having a coherent narrative - pre WW1 many exhibitors had to use lecturers to help explain to the audience the film they were watching delightedly. In movies nowadays when cameras aren't usually static for more than a second but deliberately shaking or flying off in all directions I could sometimes do with plot explanations too - if I could be bothered.

The narrative in Frankenstein is crushingly simple: man goes to college, creates a monster, which in the end can't live with its evil self. The trick shot creation scenes hold up well, less so Frankenstein's excited peeping in at it happening through a tiny trap window. There's nice tinting for the most part, although the blue shots were very blue indeed! The final mirror scene was a pleasant surprise, although because they used to churn these shorts out from start to finish in less than 3 days I wonder if a heavy message was intended. And the ugly monstrous horror reminded me of the rock band Kiss.

Well worth spending 13 minutes sampling a slice of movie history.